French President Emmanuel Macron says his now famous white-knuckle handshake showdown with US counterpart Donald Trump was "a moment of truth" — designed to show that he's no pushover.
Macron told a Sunday newspaper in France that "my handshake with him, it wasn't innocent."
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French President Emmanuel Macron has responded firmly to Donald Trump's announcement of US withdrawal from the Paris Agreement.
Trump feels the mighty hand of Macron
Emmanuel Macron out-shakes Donald Trump in the battle of the handshakes at a NATO Summit in Brussels.
Macron added: "One must show that you won't make small concessions, even symbolic ones, but also not over-publicise things, either."
Macron's office confirmed to The Associated Press the veracity of the president's comments in Le Journal du Dimanche.
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There was the power play, too, with Trump when during the war of handshakes Macron spoke at some length to the US president in French with no translator.
Macron then spoke English with Theresa May, offering cooperation in light of the UK terror attack.
The Washington Post reports that France's ambassador to the US Gerard Araud had warned Macron beforehand to prepare for a contest of handshakes.
The ambassador, whose previous post was as France's ambassador to the United Nations, allowed that he had sent a memo to Macron advising him on how to handle the American president during their first meeting at the NATO summit in Brussels on Thursday, the Post reported.
AP, Washington Post, Bloomberg